A Review of Tianjin's First Hypermarket,Carrefour

"Every family leads a happy lifeÓ with Carrefour! With such a slogan, the story of the French group Carrefour or "Jia Le Fu" could only be described as a successful one in China. Since 1999, the main goal of Mr Thierry Iannariello, the store manager of the Nankai Carrefour store in Tianjin has been to better understand the Chinese consumers without forgetting the needs of the expatriates!

JIN: Could you tell us more about the presence of Carrefour in Asia?

Thierry Ianariello: Carrefour now operates in Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and China. As the second largest retailer in the world, Carrefour opened its first two stores in China, in Beijing and Shanghai, in 1995. Today, about 20000 employees in more than 35 stores are pleased to welcome customers all over China.

JIN: Carrefour in China, a revolution?

T.I.:The concept of Carrefour is a simple one: "One stop shoppingÓ. In that way, we can say that this new way of shopping has been a successful revolution in China. For the first time, Chinese people had the opportunity to buy everything they needed in one single place! But we have to be very careful because needs can be very different from one city to another. For example, in Tianjin, the most popular departments are the foods and cosmetics ones whereas in Shanghai, the clothing dept. is booming.

JIN: We can see that you are the only carrefour expatriate executive in Tianjin. Does that mean that Carrefour can now be independent in China, without "the French touch"Ó?

T.I.: Actually, at the beginning we had a "French" Carrefour agent at each level of the Carrefour organization. Now, all storesÕ employees, assistants, Department & Section heads and some store managers are well-trained, efficient and reliable Chinese people. In order to maintain and improve their training qualifications, we have a training center in Tianjin since July 2002. We have also good relations with our suppliers. Indeed we get 95% of our merchandise from local suppliers.

JIN: What are the main differences between the European and the Chinese consumer?

T.I.: First of all, the purchasing power is much lower in China. For instance, the average basket is RMB 50 whereas in France it can amount to RMB 450. Even if it is changing now, the first worry of the Chinese consumer remains to have something secure and fresh to eat.

JIN: During the last few weeks, expats have noticed that the European imported products are scarcer. Are you forgetting us?

T.I.: No, not at all! On the contrary, we are trying to answer everybody's needs...and it is not so easy. As you know, we have to be logical and adapt our offer to our potential customers. Today, Korean people are the largest expat community. That is why we dedicated a whole shelf to their products. We plan to develop a Japanese one and to reinforce the French
one. Our goal is to have all together about 500 different references.

JIN: So, what is new for European people?

T.I.: We plan to develop an important range of "Organic products".Ó. Actually we were happily surprised to observe that Chinese consumers are interested in this kind of products. Moreover we are trying to set up a range of frozen dishes. Finally, as we already tried in 1997, we will plan to offer to you the best fresh products, such as yogurt, chees.

JIN: What about your competitors?

T.I.: As already said, Carrefour was the first hypermarket store in China. Some other Chinese (Home Club) (Wal-Mart) followed us on this new market. But today, in terms of turnover/store, the Carrefour Nankai store is the first store in Tianjin, especially thanks to its lower price policy.

Any suggestions? A special item? Do not hesitate to contact Mr Ianariello: 022-27416464-682.
Please visit the Carrefour web site: www.carrefour.com

From this month, JIN is now available at the Carrefour Nankai reception desk. Don't hesitate to ask for it!